This invention relates to a garment set hanger for use with garment sets such as coat/pant or coat/skirt sets, and, more particularly to a garment set hanger with adjustable support bar or holder.
Conventional clothes hangers typically feature a hook member which is attached to a shoulder support portion of the hanger. The hook member is typically designed for attachment to a closet support rod or the like. The shoulder support portion is designed to support a suit jacket or the like and thus includes two outwardly extending and smoothly contoured shoulder support brackets. Extending between the free ends of these brackets is a horizontal support member which is designed to support trousers or a skirt.
This type of clothes hangers is disadvantageous in that the jacket or coat covers the horizontal bar over which the trousers are positioned. Thus, the jacket or coat must first be removed in order to remove the trousers from the bar. Likewise, the jacket or coat cannot be replaced on the hanger until after the trousers have been repositioned on the bar, or else the jacket or coat must be removed before the trousers can be placed in position. This arrangement is obviously disadvantageous in that a person dressing normally puts the trousers on before the jacket or coat, and reverses the sequence when undressing.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,038,979 to Traylor is directed at the same problem associated with the above described conventional clothes hanger. In an effort to overcome this problem, the Traylot  Traylor reference describes a combination clothes hanger which includes a collar portion having shoulder support portions therebelow and a pair of brackets rigidly fixed to the collar and extending horizontally outward from the collar so as to support a support bar between their free ends. While this design overcomes the problem described above with respect to conventional clothes hangers, it introduces new problems such as the introduction of a large spacing requirement which is particularly problematic in many homes and retail locations where closet or storage rack spacing is at a premium. An additional problem lies in the fact that the Traylor design removes the advantage associated with conventional hangers in providing coat to trouser frictional contact (on the same hanger and/or with regard to an adjacent hanger) which helps avoid trouser slippage in many instances and helps avoid wrinkling by facilitating a proper position of the trousers with respect to adjacently supported and contacting garments.
The present invention is designed to solve the aforementioned problems associated with typical conventional hangers while avoiding introducing new problems such as an excessive amount of space usage. In so doing, the present invention is directed at a hanger that comprises an attachment member and a main hanger body. The main hanger body includes an intermediate section and first and second shoulder support sections extending in opposite directions out from the intermediate section for supporting a garment piece with shoulder portions. The attachment member is joined with the intermediate section. The hanger also includes a garment piece holder for supporting one other garment piece. The garment piece holder is supported by the main body, and the garment piece holder includes a pivoting component which is positionable between a first location wherein the pivoting component is adjacent the shoulder support sections and a second location wherein the pivoting component is further removed from the shoulder support sections.
The pivoting component of the hanger of the present invention is supported by the intermediate section, and the intermediate section includes an interface section which is joined with the attachment unit. The garment piece holder preferably includes a pivot post arrangement supported by and extending to opposite sides of the intermediate section, and the pivot post arrangement is vertically positioned between the shoulder support sections and the attachment member.
In one embodiment, the hanger""s pivot post arrangement includes two post sections fixedly secured to the interface section, and the garment piece holder further comprises two side sections extending off from ends of the pivot post sections. The side sections are pivotably joined to the pivot post sections at an upper end thereof. The garment piece holder further comprises a horizontal support section supported by lower ends of the two side sections. The side sections can be formed of wire with each of the upper ends of the side sections including a coil section wrapped about the pivot post sections.
In one preferred arrangement, a first of the side sections has a coil loop bottom end and a second of the side sections has a curved reception portion. The horizontal support section comprises a horizontal bar and a contact wire section, with the contact wire section extending between and being integral with the coil loop bottom end and the curved reception portion. The horizontal bar has a first end fixedly received by the coil loop bottom and a second end adapted for receipt within the curved reception portion.
The side sections are preferably positioned laterally inward of the bottom, free ends of the shoulder sections such that the side sections each include at least a portion that can contact with a front face of the shoulder sections and can pivot further forward and away from the front face when assuming a trouser removal or initial insertion position.
The bottom ends of the side sections can also be positioned such that the ends of the horizontal support section supported by the side sections can contact a front face of the shoulder sections and can pivot further forward and away from the front face.
In one embodiment of the invention, the attachment member includes a hook shaped section and a bulbous bottom end which is fixedly received within a cavity formed in the main hanger body.
A preferred arrangement of the invention features an intermediate section that includes an interface section joined with the attachment member and a neck section positioned vertically between the interface section and the shoulder support sections, and the garment piece holder has an upper portion joined with the interface section, a mid-portion and a lower horizontal support portion joined with the mid-portion such that the lower horizontal support section is positioned below the neck section.
Under the invention, an upper portion of the garment piece holder includes a pivot post integrally joined with the interface section or, alternatively, pivotably joined with the interface section. Also, the attachment member can be integrally joined with the intermediate section (e.g., monolithic plastic body) or secured thereto.
In an alternate embodiment of the invention, the intermediate section includes an interface section that has at least one reception hole which pivotably receives the garment piece holder. The reception hole is a throughhole in one embodiment which extends through the interface section, and the upper support bar of the garment piece holder extends through the throughhole. With this arrangement, the garment piece holder is preferably a closed loop member having two side sections extending off from a respective end of the upper support bar. The closed loop member further comprises a lower horizontal support bar joined with the lower ends of the side sections. One embodiment of the invention includes a hanger that has means for laterally locking the upper support bar within the throughhole so as to avoid side shifting of the upper support bar.
The hanger of the invention also features in one embodiment a position pivot locking means for releasably locking the garment piece holder at the second location and/or the first location.
In an alternate embodiment of the invention, the garment piece holder includes an upper portion formed of a left insertion section and a right insertion section each having a free end pivotably supported by the interface section. The left and right insertion sections preferably include means for laterally locking the left and right insertion sections in reception holes provided in the interface section.
Thus, in one embodiment of the invention, there is featured a garment piece holder that has an upper portion pivotably joined with the intermediate section, two side sections extending downwardly from the upper portion and between free ends of the shoulder sections, and a lower support section which is joined with a lower end of the side sections. The lower support section includes an essentially horizontal portion upon which the one other garment piece is supported. The lower support section can include a horizontal bar and two, laterally spaced clamps supported on the horizontal bar.
The hanger of the present invention also features a garment piece holder that has a vertically extending central bar with an upper end pivotably received within a recess formed in the intermediate section and a lower end, with the lower end of the central bar supporting a member for supporting the one other garment piece.
Stated in other words, the present invention is directed at a hanger which has a main hanger body that includes an intermediate section joined with the attachment member and first and second shoulder support sections extending in opposite directions out from the intermediate section for supporting a garment piece with shoulder portions. The hanger also includes a garment piece holder for holding one other garment piece, the garment piece holder having an upper portion pivotably joined with the intermediate section, an intermediate portion extending down from the upper portion of the garment piece holder, and a lower portion with means for contacting and supporting the one other garment piece.
The intermediate section includes an interface section and the garment piece holder can include a pivot post secured to the interface section as well as an intermediate portion that includes two side sections. The side sections and the lower portion are formed of a continuous length of wire having coiled upper ends pivotably received by the pivot post.
Alternatively, the upper portion includes an uninterrupted, essentially horizontal bar extending through a throughhole formed in the interface section. As an additional alternative embodiment, the hanger""s upper portion can include a head member that is pivotably received within a cavity formed in the intermediate section, and the intermediate portion can include a centrally positioned arched bar extending down from the upper portion to a horizontal holder member.
The invention is also directed at a method of manufacturing a hanger which includes the step of forming a main hanger body which includes an intermediate section and two shoulder sections extending out from the intermediate section for supporting a first garment piece. The method also includes forming a garment piece holder for holding one other garment piece, the garment piece holder including an upper portion, at least one intermediate portion pivotably supported by the main body of the hanger, and a lower portion, which lower portion provides means for contacting and supporting the one other garment piece.